The Smugglers
Encyclopedia
The Smugglers is a serial in the British
science fiction television series Doctor Who
, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 10 September to 1 October 1966.
arrive with him in the TARDIS
on the coast of seventeenth century Cornwall
. They meet a worried churchwarden named Joseph Longfoot, who lives in fear of "Avery's boys" and, in thanks for the Doctor’s kindness in relocating a dislocated finger, imparts a cryptic message he calls "Deadman's secret key": "Smallwood, Ringwood, Gurney". While the time travellers head off to settle at the local inn, Longfoot has another visitor. This one is Cherub, Longfoot's former shipmate under pirate Captain Avery
on the Black Albatross. Cherub and his master, Samuel Pike, who captains the Albatross since Avery died, want to recover Avery's accursed gold. Pike is convinced that Longfoot has the treasure or knows where it is hidden. When the churchwarden does not co-operate, Cherub kills him – but not before revealing he saw the three travellers who visited Longfoot earlier.
Hours later the discovery of the churchwarden’s body leads the locals to suspect the three strangers at the inn. The local Squire is called to intervene and adjudicate, and ends up charging Ben and Polly with the murder. Employing trickery to obtain their freedom, they split up. Ben hides at the church until Josiah Blake, a revenue man tracking the local smugglers, disturbs him.
In the meantime Cherub and some pirates have kidnapped the Doctor and taken him to the Albatross. The Doctor attempts to bargain with Pike, and finds himself kept aboard ship while the captain goes ashore. Pike decides to try and make an alliance with the Squire as well to protect himself while he searches for Avery’s treasure. The greedy Squire is the organiser of the local smuggling ring and offers to cut Pike and his pirates in. They are interrupted by Polly, who has come to implore the Squire to help her find the Doctor and is shocked to see him in the company of the kidnapping pirate Cherub.
Pike, Cherub and the Squire bind and gag Polly and take her to the church, meeting and capturing Ben on the way. They attempt to convince Blake that Ben and Polly are the true smugglers. Knowing the truth but lacking the manpower to arrest the pirates, Blake pretends to arrest Ben and Polly. The Doctor has meanwhile escaped from the ship and meets up with his friends in the churchyard. Blake works out a smuggling drop is due soon and heads off for more revenue men to break the smuggling ring.
The smuggling alliance has by now fallen apart: the Squire has realised he is dealing with a ruthless pirate who will not honour any bargains with him while Cherub has decided to locate Avery’s gold for himself. The Squire too sets off to find the gold, as do the time travellers since the Doctor is convinced the rhyme of the churchwarden is the key. He works out the names Ringwood, Smallbeer, and Gurney pertain to graves in the crypt but before he can find the treasure the other seekers arrive. Cherub wounds the Squire, and then forces the Doctor to confess the rhyme. Cherub concludes that Deadman too is a name of one of Avery’s former pirates, but is slain by a vengeful Pike, who now threatens to pillage the entire village in his search for Avery’s treasure. The Doctor bargains with Pike for the lives of the villagers if he shows him the treasure and, with this agreed, they find the gold at the intersection of the four graves.
No sooner does Pike have the treasure than Blake and an armed patrol of revenue men arrive. Aided by the injured Squire – who repents of his sins – Blake kills Pike, and the pirate force is routed. As the battle dies down, the Doctor and his companions slip away to the TARDIS, and the Doctor says superstition
is a strange thing but it sometimes tells the truth.
, was published by Target Books
in June 1988.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 10 September to 1 October 1966.
Plot
The Doctor’s new companions Ben and PollyPolly (Doctor Who)
Polly is a fictional character played by Anneke Wills in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A young woman from the year 1966, she was a companion of the First and Second Doctors and a regular in the programme from 1966 to 1967.-Character history:Polly first...
arrive with him in the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
on the coast of seventeenth century Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. They meet a worried churchwarden named Joseph Longfoot, who lives in fear of "Avery's boys" and, in thanks for the Doctor’s kindness in relocating a dislocated finger, imparts a cryptic message he calls "Deadman's secret key": "Smallwood, Ringwood, Gurney". While the time travellers head off to settle at the local inn, Longfoot has another visitor. This one is Cherub, Longfoot's former shipmate under pirate Captain Avery
Henry Every
Henry Every, also Avery or Avary, , sometimes given as John Avery, was an English pirate who operated in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans in the mid-1690s. He likely used several aliases throughout his career, including Benjamin Bridgeman, and was known as Long Ben to his crewmen and associates...
on the Black Albatross. Cherub and his master, Samuel Pike, who captains the Albatross since Avery died, want to recover Avery's accursed gold. Pike is convinced that Longfoot has the treasure or knows where it is hidden. When the churchwarden does not co-operate, Cherub kills him – but not before revealing he saw the three travellers who visited Longfoot earlier.
Hours later the discovery of the churchwarden’s body leads the locals to suspect the three strangers at the inn. The local Squire is called to intervene and adjudicate, and ends up charging Ben and Polly with the murder. Employing trickery to obtain their freedom, they split up. Ben hides at the church until Josiah Blake, a revenue man tracking the local smugglers, disturbs him.
In the meantime Cherub and some pirates have kidnapped the Doctor and taken him to the Albatross. The Doctor attempts to bargain with Pike, and finds himself kept aboard ship while the captain goes ashore. Pike decides to try and make an alliance with the Squire as well to protect himself while he searches for Avery’s treasure. The greedy Squire is the organiser of the local smuggling ring and offers to cut Pike and his pirates in. They are interrupted by Polly, who has come to implore the Squire to help her find the Doctor and is shocked to see him in the company of the kidnapping pirate Cherub.
Pike, Cherub and the Squire bind and gag Polly and take her to the church, meeting and capturing Ben on the way. They attempt to convince Blake that Ben and Polly are the true smugglers. Knowing the truth but lacking the manpower to arrest the pirates, Blake pretends to arrest Ben and Polly. The Doctor has meanwhile escaped from the ship and meets up with his friends in the churchyard. Blake works out a smuggling drop is due soon and heads off for more revenue men to break the smuggling ring.
The smuggling alliance has by now fallen apart: the Squire has realised he is dealing with a ruthless pirate who will not honour any bargains with him while Cherub has decided to locate Avery’s gold for himself. The Squire too sets off to find the gold, as do the time travellers since the Doctor is convinced the rhyme of the churchwarden is the key. He works out the names Ringwood, Smallbeer, and Gurney pertain to graves in the crypt but before he can find the treasure the other seekers arrive. Cherub wounds the Squire, and then forces the Doctor to confess the rhyme. Cherub concludes that Deadman too is a name of one of Avery’s former pirates, but is slain by a vengeful Pike, who now threatens to pillage the entire village in his search for Avery’s treasure. The Doctor bargains with Pike for the lives of the villagers if he shows him the treasure and, with this agreed, they find the gold at the intersection of the four graves.
No sooner does Pike have the treasure than Blake and an armed patrol of revenue men arrive. Aided by the injured Squire – who repents of his sins – Blake kills Pike, and the pirate force is routed. As the battle dies down, the Doctor and his companions slip away to the TARDIS, and the Doctor says superstition
Superstition
Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
is a strange thing but it sometimes tells the truth.
Continuity
- For the dating of this serial, see the Chronology.
- The 2011 Doctor Who episode "The Curse of the Black SpotThe Curse of the Black Spot"The Curse of the Black Spot" is the third episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Stephen Thompson, and directed by Jeremy Webb, the episode was first broadcast on 7 May 2011 on BBC One in the United Kingdom and on BBC America in the...
" is in part a prequel to this serial, as it deals with the circumstances of Captain Avery's (presumed) death.
Production
- All four episodes of this serial are considered missing. The soundtrack and telesnaps survive, along with bits of Australian censor footage.
- This was the first story to feature major location shooting. All previous location shots had been conducted at locations around London, but substantial portions of this story were filmed in Cornwall.
- This was the last story filmed in the third season's production block, although it was held over until the beginning of the fourth season. During filming, the production team realized that William Hartnell's health had deteriorated beyond the point where he could continue to work. Many months' discussion about replacing Hartnell finally came to a head, and Innes LloydInnes LloydInnes Lloyd was a British television producer of BBC drama producers.-Doctor Who:...
decided not to renew Hartnell's contract. It is unclear if Hartnell was contractually obliged to appear in The Tenth PlanetThe Tenth PlanetThe Tenth Planet is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 8 October to 29 October 1966. It was William Hartnell's last regular appearance as the First Doctor, and the first story to feature the Cybermen...
or if he agreed to do so after being informed of Lloyd's decision. - On initial airing, this story posted the lowest audience figures, at an average of 4.48 million viewers per episode, since the show had started. It would remain the least-watched story in Doctor Who history for twenty years, until The Trial of a Time LordThe Trial of a Time LordThe Trial of a Time Lord is a fourteen-part British science fiction serial of the long running BBC series Doctor Who. The serial, produced as the twenty-third season of the Doctor Who television series, aired in weekly episodes from 6 September to 6 December 1986...
: The Mysterious PlanetThe Mysterious Planet-Preproduction:In February 1985, the BBC announced that the planned twenty-third season of Doctor Who had been cancelled. After vocal protests by the press and Doctor Who fans , the BBC announced that the programme was merely on "hiatus", and would return in September 1986...
aired in 1986 and posted an average of 4.35 million viewers per episode.
Cast notes
- John Ringham had previously played Tlotoxl in The AztecsThe Aztecs (Doctor Who)-VHS and DVD releases:*The serial was released on VHS in 1992.*On 21 October 2002, it was released on Region 2 DVD. This release was the first Doctor Who DVD to use the VidFIRE process throughout the whole production.-External links:Fan reviews...
and would appear again as Ashe in Colony in SpaceColony in SpaceColony in Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in 6 weekly parts from April 10 to May 15, 1971.- Synopsis :...
. - Paul Whitsun-Jones would later play the Marshal in The MutantsThe MutantsThe Mutants is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 8 April to 13 May 1972....
.
In print
A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance DicksTerrance Dicks
Terrance Dicks is an English writer, best known for his work in television and for writing a large number of popular children's books during the 1970s and 80s.- Early career :...
, was published by Target Books
Target Books
Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well known for their highly successful range of...
in June 1988.
CD and DVD releases
- The soundtrack for the story exists due to fan-made recordings. These have been released on CD together with linking narration provided by cast member Anneke Wills.
- Several brief clips cut by AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n censors for violence were recovered in 1996 and were released on the Lost in Time DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
box set in 2004. Also included in the set is amateur on-location colour film footage made during production at Trethewey Farm, Trethewey, Cornwall.
External links
- Doctor Who Locations - The Smugglers